The invention relates to the display of information on display screens of mobile terminals, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and similar devices. More particularly, the invention provides a method and apparatus for displaying icons in such a way that certain icons are more prominently featured than other icons.
Modern computer operating systems generally use pictures, such as icons, to represent application programs and documents on computer displays. The well-known MAC OS operating system from Apple Computer Corporation and the WINDOWS operating system from Microsoft Corporation are two examples of widely used graphics-oriented operating systems.
More recently, mobile terminals such as cellular telephones and wireless-enabled PDAs have incorporated graphics-oriented technology that allows a user to select application programs, web sites, and documents. Following increases in computing performance and memory capacity, mobile terminals now host an increasing number of application programs and capabilities. The Nokia 9210 COMMUNICATOR, for example, supports numerous functions such as telephone, fax, e-mail, calendar, and contacts features.
In order to maintain a convenient handheld form factor, the graphics displays for mobile terminals are necessarily small, thus limiting the amount of information that can be comfortably viewed at one time. Consequently, one problem confronting designers of such devices is determining how to maximize the number of icons and other graphical symbols on the display of such devices without making the symbols too small to see.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,197, entitled xe2x80x9cIcon Driven Phone Menu System,xe2x80x9d describes a cellular telephone including a display mode selector that allows a user to select one of two display modes. In a first display mode, icons representing applications are arranged in rows and columns, thus allowing a user to navigate in two dimensions using cursor buttons. In a second display mode, the icons are displayed on one side of the cellular telephone display with a text field adjacent to each icon that identifies the icon.
Although the display modes in the aforementioned patent allow a user to navigate through numerous icons on the display, each icon takes up roughly the same amount of space on the display, regardless of its importance to the particular user. For example, if one user predominantly uses application programs A and B, whereas a second user predominantly uses application programs C and D, each user must navigate through the same set of icons in order to locate his or her desired application programs. Although it is possible for two users to customize their mobile terminals to delete certain applications that are rarely used, it may be undesirable to do so. Moreover, some users may want the ability to access an application program or other object (e.g., a document) even if it is only rarely needed. Consequently, there remains the problem of providing a display of icons that is specific to a particular user""s needs.
As location-based information and location-based services become a reality, mobile terminal users will receive location-specific messages (e.g., advertisements for restaurants and movie theaters) broadcast from their environments. Because of the large quantity of information that will be transmitted, it will be necessary to restrict the services that are accessible to each user. One approach for restricting access is to define a personal profile for each user that defines that user""s services of interest, as well as their priorities.
What is needed for mobile terminals is a technique to more efficiently represent a large number of icons on a small display in a manner that is tailored to a particular user""s needs.
A first embodiment of the invention provides a method of displaying a plurality of icons on the display of a mobile terminal. The method includes a step of comparing one or more characteristics associated with each icon to one or more context values, such as time of day, geographic area, or user profile characteristics. Icons that best match one or more context values are represented in a display format that is enlarged in relation to other icons on the display device. The context values may include dynamically changing information, such as a current location of the user, so that as the user moves to a different geographic area, different icons are enlarged on the display device. The icons can correspond to application programs; logos (such as a corporate logo); documents; Web sites; or other objects.
A second embodiment of the invention provides a method of displaying a context bar on a display screen of a mobile terminal. The context bar includes a plurality of display icons that are arranged in a horizontal, vertical, or mixed fashion. Icons in the context bar are organized according to the degree to which they match one or more context values contained in a user""s profile, such that icons that best match the user""s profile are shown full-size and in a prominent location, whereas other icons are shown in a reduced-width format.
A third embodiment of the invention includes a mobile terminal configured with a microprocessor, a memory, and a display device that displays a plurality of icons. The icons are displayed on the display device using a display format (e.g., size) that relates to the degree with which each icon matches one or more context values, such as time of day, geographic location, or characteristics contained in a user""s profile. As the user""s profile or other characteristics change, the relative sizes of the icons may change, such that certain icons appear larger and are shown more prominently on the display, whereas other icons are not so prominently represented on the display.
A fourth embodiment of the invention includes a mobile terminal configured with a microprocessor, a memory, and a display device that displays a context bar. The context bar includes a plurality of display icons that are arranged in a horizontal, vertical, or mixed fashion. Icons in the context bar are organized according to the degree to which they match context values contained in a user""s profile, such that icons that best match the user""s profile are shown full-size, whereas other icons are shown in a reduced-width format.
The display characteristics of the icons can be modified such that certain icons appear wider, taller, brighter, enhanced in color or tone, etc. than other icons. Embodiments wherein certain icons are represented in a smaller form factor allow a large number of icons to be represented in a given display area while allowing the user to quickly identify icons that are likely to be used at any given time. The invention allows the most important objects or icons to be shown in full size for easy access, while still allowing dozens of icons or objects to be displayed on a single display screen.
In one or more of the above embodiments, the user may control the criteria that determine how each icon is displayed, such that different mobile terminal users may potentially have differently prioritized icons. In some variations, selection of an icon causes a hyperlink (Universal Resource Locator) to be activated, thus launching a web application.